Blazers Continue to Be Linked With Sharpshooting ACC Guard Ahead of NBA Draft

Portland continues to be linked to him based on their team's needs.

Apr 13, 2025; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Matisse Thybulle (4) grabs a rebound against Los Angeles Lakers center Trey Jemison III (55) in the second half at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images / Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images

The Portland Trail Blazers got a head start on their offseason after not making the playoffs. They tried the best that they could to make a late run at the Play-In, but fell short.

Now, the Trail Blazers have to figure out what they are going to do in order to improve their team. Changes need to be made if they are going to make the playoffs next year.

The NBA Draft is a good way for them to get a young player who could turn into a star. Mock drafts consistently link the Blazers with a particular ACC guard.

Read more: Blazers Still Have Shot at Landing Cooper Flagg in NBA Draft

The Blazers have been linked with Duke guard Kon Knueppel. Knueppel is not as good as his teammate Cooper Flagg, but he is still a good player who can help whatever team he's drafted to.

Since the Blazers do not have great odds of winning the lottery, Knueppel has been a popular player to be forecasted to Portland. The Trail Blazers need shooting with size, and Knueppel gives them both.

Having Knueppel on the team would mean that the Trail Blazers would need to move on from one of their young guards. They have too many guards on the roster as it is.

Joe Cronin will be the one tasked with figuring out what trades they need to make in order to make this team a playoff contender. He has a lot of guys that are candidates to be moved in the offseason.

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Portland is going to be one of the teams to watch in the offseason. What they do is going to affect a lot of other tams in the league, especially when it comes to Deandre Ayton.

The free agent market is not very strong when it comes to centers, so that means more teams could be interested in trading for him. Moving him is going to be a top priority for this team.

If the Blazers are able to add Knueppel, they will feel very good about how the NBA Draft will shake out.

In his lone season with the Blue Devils, Knueppel averaged 14.4 points, four rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. He shot 48 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

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